Rightfully Hers

XXV

JADA WARREN

I was going crazy. There was no way I wasn't going crazy. I hadn't even opened my eyes yet, but there was a voice in my head, and she would not silence herself. Was it me? I didn't think I was that annoying.

Finally, you're awake. I was getting bored. How are you feeling?

Uh, I responded, confused? Who the hell are you?

I heard an inhuman chuckle and then a, I'm your wolf, of course. You, but not really. Another side of you, perhaps. However you want to see it.

My eyes shot open, and I spotted a head of blonde hair to my right. Isabelle was here. Of course she was, why wouldn't she be? My wolf, or whatever, let out an excited howl in my head and it felt as though she were prancing around my skull.

It's our mate! She cried. Oh, I've never had a mate before! Her hair is stunning and according to our memories, her lips are so soft! I'm so excited to kiss her. I'm so excited to meet her wolf. She's beautiful, isn't she?

"Can you fucking not?" I voiced, out loud this time. I was scowling into space when Isabelle moved slightly. She lifted her head and moved her hair out of her eyes, the same green eyes that widened to the size of saucers when she caught my eye. My wolf howled again in my head and I grimaced, lifting the arm that wasn't covered in IVs to rub my temple.

"Jada," Isabelle breathed, "you're awake. God, I was so fucking worried. I thought I lost you. Do you have any idea how fucking terrified I was? You scared the shit out of me!"

Her voice is hot, the all-too-familiar voice cooed in my head. I scowled even deeper. How did I shut that thing off?

"Are you okay?" Isabelle brought me back, her head tilted questioningly. "You're scowling at me. Did I do something? Do you need something?"

"How do you get your wolf to shut up?" I whispered at her, like my wolf couldn't hear everything that ran through my head. She made a snarky comment to which I ignored, and I instead had to watch surprise fit itself across my mate's features, and then she burst into a fit of laughter.

"I knew you were going to be irritated by her," she choked out between guffaws of laughter. "Just think about blocking her out, building a wall she can't get through, anything to keep her out. It may take some practice, but it gets easier."

I had my wolf mentally blocked within seconds. I don't know if it's because I was so determined to get her to stop talking, or because I was so used to blocking people out that it wasn't even hard for me anymore. Either way, I successfully managed to silence her and focus solely on Isabelle, who'd stopped laughing finally.

"How are you feeling?" She asked softly, her eyes never leaving mine. I felt one of her hands reach for mine and she strung her fingers through mine. A feeling of familiarity washed over me, a feeling of home, and I squeezed her hand tightly in my own.

"I feel... okay. My back is a little numb, but nothing I can't handle. How long was I out for?"

"Less than twenty four hours," she told me, rubbing her thumb over the top of my hand, back and forth. I felt a presence in my head and I pushed her back immediately. My wolf, I was beginning to learn, was a very loud version of my subconscious, and I was not pleased about it one bit. "It's about midnight now. Julian fell asleep in a chair but I woke him up about four hours ago and told him to go to bed."

I sighed and leaned my head back so I was almost directly facing the ceiling. "I'll let him sleep, but I need to talk to him. I can't imagine how he's feeling, it took him forever to love again, and Isaac ended up..." I couldn't finish, but I didn't have to. Isabelle leaned to rest her forehead against my shoulder, inhaling deeply.